A Life Lost
by Mara-chan
Summary: Getting hit from Akane was supposedly nothing new, but one usual pounding was all it took to change everything. Oh well, a life lost is a life gained... or something like that. R.5xLH ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor will I ever, own any of the characters used within this story. All characters belong to their respected creators, which is obviously not I.

* * *

----------

**A Life Lost  
**

_Chapter One_

_Forgetting_

----------

Taht ees tsuj uoy did….

Deneppah tahw….

Lrig that….

Letting out a small groan, Ranma tried to think as his mind wasn't fully awake yet.

What was all that noise? Was that baka of a father of his complaining about something again? Putting those thoughts aside, Ranma decided to move only to find himself suddenly falling. Caught off guard, all Ranma could do was groan again at the sudden aches in his body as he collided against the hard wood floor.

Mih tih….

Drah taht….

The pain in his head was building and all that persistent noise he was hearing wasn't exactly helping the situation either. What was with all the mumbo jumbo anyways?

Repositioning himself to sit up against the wall he had fell from earlier, Ranma quickly let out a small hiss at the pain that flared up in result of his actions. Damn, he never felt this bad before except way back when he first started training with the lazy panda. What had happened exactly? Did Akane hit him again? His brain was still fuzzy on the details.

"Oh, he survived."

_Huh?_

"Who was that girl?"

Looking up, his eyes settled upon some tall and lanky boy standing nearby. Was he talking to him? Before Ranma could fully process the comments made another boy had walked by to join the other. The two contrasted with one another, as the other boy's physique consisted of being simply round and short.

"You don't know her? She's one of the students from here that's got high enough grades for Tokyo University."

Oh, so that boy he had heard earlier was merely talking to that apparent friend of his. With that solved and his aches starting to ebb away, Ranma took the chance to look around. There were a multitude of people lingering about in the hallway – a majority of them whispering and conspicuously pointing at him – and oh. _What's that chick's problem?_

Not far away stood a fuming girl who was definitely not Akane; not with those two pigtails and the huge glasses she sported. At that moment, the light filtering through the windows had hit the girl's glasses just right and produced this god awful glare that reminded Ranma just how much his head hurt. And with a small "humph" the girl had turned her back at him and stomped off to wherever.

It was clear that it was her who had hit him.

_Feh, stupid tomboy. What did I do?_

Shaking his head, Ranma slowly got up from the floor before lightly poking at the small growing bump on his head. That chick sure hit hard though; possibly harder than Akane even and there wasn't a mallet anywhere in that girl's hands.

"Hey Keitaro, were your eyes always blue?"

_What?_

Brought out of his thoughts by the two boys in front of him, Ranma looked confusedly at them. They were the same boys that were conversing with one another from before. And one of them had asked him a question. Yes, him as it was made apparent by both boys now standing before him awaiting his answer.

Speechless, Ranma made no move to answer as the same inquiring boy just shook his head before speaking once more.

"No matter. Why don't you look at the reality, just give up Tokyo University."

He'd forgotten.

He wasn't Ranma Saotome anymore.

To Be Continued….

* * *

**Comments:** Obviously, or maybe not so obviously, this is my first attempt at crossing over two works of fiction. Hopefully, this mashing of mine hasn't rotted out anyone's brain or made their eyes fall out of their socket cause that would be greatly unfortunate. Speaking of which….

**Disclaimer:** The author is in no way responsible for any possible events that may or may not occur during or after the reading of this online publication. Suing is not an option. You have been warned… now.

**Comments [cont'd]:** Anywhoo, back at hand, this little idea came about while I was watching an old film I had checked out from the library. I won't go much – or at all – into details about the movie's plot, but I'm pretty sure everyone recognizes which anime I've crossover with.


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor will I ever, own any of the characters used within this story. All characters belong to their respected creators, which is obviously not I.

* * *

----------

**A Life Lost**

_Chapter Two_

_Remembering_

----------

Clink, clink…

Clink, clink…

Looking away from his reflection off the train window, Ranma tried to focus on something else. Anything really to take his mind away from his current predicament.

_At least I don't have to worry about the curse anymore._ That thought gave some comfort as a thin smile was brought to his lips before abruptly being dropped.

Ranma sighed.

Everything was different now. His clothes, his face, his body. And, not to mention, his name. This was going to take some getting used to. Sure he had pretended to be other people before, but never had he literally become someone else.

He may be Keitaro Urashima on the outside, but inside he was still truly Ranma Saotome. A martial artist who always overcame whatever odds thrown his way.

…_._

Damn. He had to relearn the arts. That meant he needed to go through all that training again. This body was weak – duly noted for a once top-notched martial artist – and definitely unbalanced, which Ranma greatly noticed when he almost fell on several women on his way to the metro train station. He wasn't exactly sure how this guy had lived as long as he had. All it would take was one good punch – most likely from a girl – and this guy would have definitely been a goner.

Oh wait, that did happen.

How else was he here inhabiting this body.

_How did I get here anyways?_

With all the rivals and opponents he faced daily, he never once thought that he'd be taken down by a table. And by a fiancé no less.

Actually, the idea never took hold. Nada. Zilch. Zero. He was Ranma Saotome, the best of the best! With all the craziness of Nerima he'd been subjected to, he always came out on top. That was a fact. Yet, here he was now; living another person's life all due to a tiny mistake.

_Feh. Tiny. Who makes a mistake like that?!_

The day he would cease to be Ranma was a day that went like all others. Crazy, hectic, chaotic. He should have suspected something to break up the norm really, just never to this extent.

-:-:-:-:-:-

As Kasumi had cooked for the night everyone was present at the table for dinner. Like many times beforehand, both the Tendo and Saotome patriarchs had wailed about how the schools would never be joined if Ranma didn't make a move on Akane.

That was usual.

So was his typical foot-in-mouth retort, which normally resulted with Akane bashing his head in with the table.

Once again, also usual. What wasn't usual, however, was the fact that he never got back up.

Apparently, at the time when Akane decided to teach Ranma manners – via the blunt force of a table – a special someone happened to be passing through. Now to those unfamiliar with the ongoings of Nerima, any normal being would assume the natural event that should occur if anyone had gotten their head smashed through the floor with a table.

Instant death.

That's what Kurumi, a passing angel-in-training, concluded when she decided to take out Ranma's soul at the moment of impact. No one would have survived that hit. Of course, she was dealing with one Ranma Saotome but she didn't know that. And she was new to the job. Anyone could forgive her for that one tiny mistake.

-:-:-:-:-:-

He couldn't believe he actually forgave her, but the moment she turned and looked at him with those tears in her eyes…. He was a chump. Period. He couldn't handle a crying girl, much less one that could be crying because of him.

Ranma Saotome taken down by a sobbing girl.

Running a hand through his hair, Ranma – no, Keitaro – let out a small frustrated groan; the only response at both his current circumstance and the fact he had forgotten who he was suppose to be once again, which a lack of a pigtail harshly reminded him of.

"Now arriving at Hirazawa hot spring, the last stop."

Shaken out of his state, Ranma quickly made sure he had all his belongings before stepping off the metro train.

_Where am I suppose to go now?_

Unfortunately, all Ranma could do was stare blankly at his surroundings. After a few minutes of lingering about in front of the station he finally began to walk, praying that he was at the very least heading towards the right direction.

As luck would have it, or a lack thereof, Ranma soon found himself lost after thirty minutes of aimlessly walking about. Though he should have expected it as he didn't really know what he was suppose to be doing in the first place. Spotting a nearby stone bench, Ranma walked over to it and plopped himself down. After doing so, he happened to notice three very familiar-looking, old men standing across the street from him.

_Are they following me?_

He was pretty sure that he had seen them earlier at various points of the day. Did they want something? _Whatever_, he thought before deciding to rummage through the green book bag he carried. All he could find were the same random books and a note with 'Hinagata Inn' scrawled on it as before. Staring at the note, Ranma shifted his eyes to the corner that held a childish drawing of Kurumi giving him a thumbs up.

Letting out another sigh, Ranma reluctantly concluded that he was stumped. There was nothing else he could do as he had neither the faintest idea of where he was suppose to go now. Moving to put back some of the stuff taken out in his attempt of finding more clues, Ranma finally noticed the other person sitting some distance away on a similar bench.

It was a girl.

And she was crying.

Ranma fidgeted.

At least she wasn't looking his way. Keeping that thought in mind, Ranma returned to his task at hand only to be dumbfounded by what he saw. Before him was an opened sketchbook and a rough sketch of the girl he just saw.

_Did I… draw this?_

The fact that the sketchbook was supposedly his and the undeniable point that in his hand held a small pencil, Ranma could only sum up that he indeed did as believed.

Unsure of what had happened and before he could figure things out one of the old men from across the street had appeared beside him and snatched the sketchbook from his lap.

"Oy!" Ranma shouted as he stood up.

Rapidly stomping towards the old man, Ranma shook a fist menacingly as he moved to grab the book back. "You better give that back oyaji!"

The old man's only response was to throw the book up into the air.

Moving to catch it, Ranma's left eye shortly began to twitch when another old man had appeared for the book to land right into his hands; only to promptly throw it to the third in their group. Pretty soon a game of monkey-in-the-middle ensued as Ranma could simply jump about trying to capture the constantly thrown object.

"Oyaji!!" Ranma finally shouted in anger before moving twice as fast. As a result, Ranma managed to grab onto the book before it was caught by the others. Smirking in triumph, Ranma's victory was short-lived when one of the men moved to bump him from behind causing him to drop the book.

And have it land with its pages opened in front of the sobbing girl from before.

_Kuso_, Ranma thought when he saw where the girl's eyes focused on. It was his drawing of her.

"Why… is it…"

Before she could finish, Ranma quickly interrupted with an apology before grabbing his bag and dashing off in some random direction.

"So vastly different yet so very alike," muttered the three old men sagely before disappearing off as well through a fog; its appearance sudden as it came and went.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Off in the distance, Ranma continued to run.

_Baka, baka, baka!_

And he was chiding himself as he did so.

_I can't believe I ran... like some girl!_

Ranma continued to berate himself until he remembered what Yuuta, the angel assigned to resolve Kurumi's mistake, had told him before he took Keitaro's place.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"I'm… I'm dead?" whispered the bespectacled boy in disbelief.

"Don't worry! Kurumi's here! And I'm gonna take ya to where you're suppose to go Keitaro-kun!" exclaimed the girl who caused Ranma so much trouble.

Bouncing over to Keitaro, Kurumi took a hold of his hand and began to drag the poor boy off.

"B-b-but Todai! I was supposed to go to Todai!" he managed to stutter.

Kurumi simply smiled before answering, "Don't worry! Ranma-kun here's gonna take over your place in life! So don't ya worry all about it!"

"W-w-what??" Keitaro screeched as the angel-in-training continued to manhandle him.

Standing by the sidelines, two figures watched as the happy Kurumi and the struggling Keitaro finally disappeared in an amazing show of lights and colors. Of course, the small fireworks at the end also caused the two to further sweat drop at the 'intriguing' display.

"Ahem."

Quickly turning to the girl beside him, Ranma watched as she seemed to glow for a moment just as the scenery around them shimmered and changed.

"Do not worry. They cannot see us," the girl answered when Ranma jumped at the sudden appearance of people around them.

Relaxing his posture, Ranma then took a closer look at their new surroundings. They appeared to be in some sort of hallway; inside a school perhaps? Before he could contemplate anymore, Yuuta moved to stand in front of him before gesturing towards a body by the wall.

"Although it may be your soul it is still his body that you reside in. Therefore you will retain a number of the previous owner's skills and personality traits. And, in due time, you shall inherit his memories so you could go on to continue his life. Of course, how you live his life is up to you."

Ranma opened his mouth to reply, but no words were said as at that instance he felt a sudden pull on his entire being.

"Goodbye Saotome-san."

And in a moment's flash he was gone.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Slowing down to a small jog and finally just plain walking, Ranma mulled over the idea of having thoughts not his own. It sounded invasive and, admittedly, frightening. The possibility of losing one's self and becoming someone else was not a concept Ranma liked. Also, achieving skills that someone else probably worked hard for felt a bit like… cheating.

_Need to stop thinking too much. Not really like me._

Shaking his head as he cleared his mind, Ranma shortly stretched his arms before placing them behind his head. This was a fresh start now. No more fiancés. No more crazy rivals. Heck, no more chaos! He might be able to actually relax for once without worrying what's coming around the next corner.

_Yeah, some peace and quiet would be nice._

Aimlessly walking about once more, he soon came upon a series of stairs.

It was a familiar sight.

"I… I know this place," he whispered to himself.

Then with one step he began his journey upwards and slowly approached the known and unknown inn he was searching for.

It was time to live the life of one Keitaro Urashima now.

To Be Continued….

* * *

**Comments:** First of all, I want to apologize for the exceedingly large amount of time it took for this chapter to come out. I've been behind in some of my classes and have been trying to catch up with the incomplete works I had. Since then this story – as well as others – had to be placed on the back burner. Should anyone be interested, I try to update my stories' status on my profile as often as I can so readers would know where I'm at for the story that's caught their interest.

Now secondly, I've tried to explain the events – or at least some of them – that led Ranma to where he is now. I don't think I did a good job as I'm sure a number of you will probably find some things… puzzling or unanswered. I'll get to it later, or perhaps have a gushingly amazing idea that just pops into my mind one day that shall explain everything and leave no room for errors. Until then my readers you'd just have to suffer under my attempts of explanations.

Third, and finally, by the next chapter I will start addressing Ranma as Keitaro. That is who he is now and how others would perceive him as. Of course, he's going to be a different Keitaro to those who have known him before. **-- Scratch this. I'll let you guys & girls vote about this. The poll's on my profile. Or you can put it in your review. Or you can e-mail. Or you can message me? Or, whatever.  
**

Fourth – okay, I lied – I will be moving this story to the Crossover section. Beforehand, I was in a rush to post this story and wasn't paying much attention to what I was clicking. I'm sorry if this inconveniences anyone in any way.

* * *

**Nysk:** Yes, I do hope I'll be able to pull this off as well. Like I said previously, I've never done a crossover before. As for the idea of other Ranma ½ characters appearing… well, we'll just see what happens. I haven't really planned that far ahead for any of my stories. I tend to just go with the flow.

**Scourgeofthegalaxy:** Oh, well I've never read any of the manga for Love Hina. I just saw the first episode for the anime. Does that make me a bad person? Back on topic, I'm sorry if I might have confused you but the crossover starts just after the moment Naru – in her nerdy disguise – punches Keitaro. At this time Keitaro has yet to approach the inn or find out the reason for his needed appearance.

**Lao:** Oh goodness, the pressure of disappointment. ^^;

The rest, I thank you very much for your reviews. And I'm glad that my story has garnered some interest for there to be readers. The counting number of hits – no matter how small; it warms the soul.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not, nor will I ever, own any of the characters used within this story. All characters belong to their respected creators, which is obviously not I.

* * *

----------

**A Life Lost**

_Chapter Three_

_Fresh Start_

----------

Hinata Inn.

Finally.

He had found the place.

Letting out a small smile of relief, Ranma quickly jogged the last few steps up the stairs. Already he could feel a sense of joyfulness begin to fill his mood, indicating that cherished memories must have occurred here for the body he currently inhabited. His smile could only grow wider as he approached the entranceway with a hand raised to slide the glass door open.

The motion never came.

Or, at the very least, he had thought of opening the door before his eyes had caught the words on a nearby sign.

It read:

[Women's Only Dormitory, Hinata Inn]

…_._

Ranma resisted the urge to shiver at the possible implications this could mean for him. It was quite a predicament.

_Fresh start, fresh start, fresh start._

A breath in.

A breath out.

Squaring his determination, Ranma decided not to let this deter him. He was someone else now and not all girls were like his fiancés – most notably Akane.

Still, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.

Better safe than sorry.

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Calling the kettle black or… something like that.

Opting instead, as a precaution of course, Ranma went with another alternative.

Raising a loosely held fist he then knocked.

And knocked.

And knocked.

_Well that was pretty anticlimactic._

That was the first thought. The next was how he actually knew what the word anticlimactic meant. Afterwards, his thoughts turned to how all that studying was really starting to pay off.

_Wait, when have I studied?_

Unsure of what else to do or think of, Ranma simply stood there with a bit of a dumbfounded look settled upon his face. The wait didn't come much longer as his stomach quickly voiced its discontent.

_I… haven't eaten yet since I've gotten this body._

Sweat dropping slightly at his own foolishness, Ranma ran a hand through his hair as he thought. He remembered seeing a tea shop or something of the like at the bottom of the hill.

The growling continued.

Hopefully something there could help stave off his hunger Ranma thought almost wistfully before taking off back down the stairs.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Not much time passed after Ranma left before a shapely figure had appeared behind the glass doors. The person obviously took their time slouching about before finally sliding the door open and stuck a head out.

The individual's features were distinctively female despite the somewhat boyish hair cut she sported. And her eyes were squinted in a way that you couldn't even tell if they were truly opened or not. With an eyebrow raised the fox-like girl looked about for a while before mumbling softly to herself.

"I thought I heard someone."

Remaining silent as she stayed in the same position for a few seconds longer, the girl soon grinned when a thought came to mind.

"Oh well, back to my sake!" she sang-song before promptly shutting the door.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Meanwhile Ranma was seating himself inside the tea shop when a voice called out. Given the circumstances of the situation – the fact that he still answered to his original name – Ranma naturally ignored the voice.

Of course that was before Ranma figured that the voice was aimed at him, which he realized at the sudden appearance of a certain individual standing by his table.

"Keitaro. I asked, what are you doing here?"

Looking up Ranma saw a woman older than him waiting expectantly for an answer. Her arms were crossed, as if in annoyance of having to repeat herself, but she seemed to give off an air of indifference.

However, Ranma knew better.

Through years of irking people – a talent that even rivaled his martial art skills – Ranma could tell from the slight tensing of the woman's jaw that she wasn't particularly happy that he had unintentionally blew her off those few seconds earlier.

Shrugging off his initial reaction to apologize, Ranma continued to stare dumbly at the woman as he tried to pinpoint the sudden familiarity of her face.

"Obasan?" he muttered somewhat hesitantly.

A quick whap to the back of the head was her response.

"Don't call me that, Haruka's fine. And you're a bit young to already be losing your memories. Now answer the question," the woman stated without pause as she crossed her arms once more.

Ranma simply eyed the paper fan that now rested clutched in the woman's right hand. The strike had come swiftly and the paper fan from nowhere. He fidgeted slightly at the thought of this life as another version of his own previous one. Before Ranma could contemplate any further a distinctive growl could be heard.

Haruka, the now identified woman, looked down slightly before lifting an eyebrow at the boy in front of her.

"Oh, well… I got hungry?" Ranma admitted sheepishly as he rubbed at one of his eyes.

_Man, my eyes kinda sting a little for some reason._

That small action, however, greatly caught Haruka's focus as she stared intently at Ranma. Not wanting her sudden attention caught, nonetheless, Haruka continued on by acting unbothered of it all.

"I can hear that," she replied nonchalantly as she took out a pad and pencil, "And since no one else's around, what will it be then nephew of mine?"

-:-:-:-:-:-

After having served Ranma and stayed around cleaning some random tables for awhile, Haruka had finally left him be as she went and entered the small office she had in the back. There were some things she wanted to reflect upon without the disturbance of her nephew's eating habits. She never knew that he could eat so much, but that wasn't the point.

Shaking her head softly as she focused back at the task at hand, Haruka strode over to her desk before bending slightly to open the small drawer at the side. It was then that she took out a small book before flipping intensively through its contents.

And there it is.

She was unsure; not quite satisfied at what she found. She let the book drop, a clatter sounding as it hit the top of the desk, then allowed herself to fall back onto the chair behind her. Placing her hands underneath her chin as she leaned forward against the desk, Haruka pondered some more. She was absolutely certain that she was correct, but it seemed that her memories must be failing her.

Lying open before her was the book with an inserted photograph of a young Keitaro smiling stupidly at the camera with, a not much changed, Grandma Hina standing beside him.

That in itself wasn't odd, except for the fact it showed that his eyes were blue. And Haruka was positive that they weren't before.

Her thoughts were broken however at the sounds of a fax machine coming to life.

Walking over to brief a look at the contents being printed out, Haruka couldn't help but raise an eyebrow up in curiosity.

"What are you up to now?" she murmured.

-:-:-:-:-:-

It had been a while now since Haruka had left him alone to eat.

And eat he did.

But, of course, that didn't mean he didn't notice the other things that went on around him. Such as how his supposed aunt would sneak in glances when she thought he wasn't aware of them. And, though he didn't appear to be, Ranma was inwardly freaking out. The only times he knew of when a girl would secretly look at him was because she liked him. That or he had something on his face, but he was pretty sure his face was clean.

Again he resisted the urge to shiver.

Besides, she was suppose to be his aunt therefore she was family.

And family members wouldn't think about each other like **that**, right?

-:-:-:-:-:-

Somewhere out there a girl had suddenly sneezed.

"A cold?" asked the elderly woman next to her.

"I'm sure it's nothing obaasan."

-:-:-:-:-:-

"So you're here for Hinata Inn right?"

Jolted out his thoughts Ranma looked up to see Haruka approaching. As she did, the woman quickly hid the surprise off her face at the fact that he was practically finished with everything he ordered. An order she took not some time ago.

A nod of his head was given as an answer as Ranma took a sip from his drink.

"You should know that the place isn't as you remembered. It's an all-girls dormitory now," she plainly stated.

"Yeah, I saw the sign when I was up there earlier. I guess I was lucky no one was there, eh?" Ranma answered nervously as he gave a small but shaky smile.

Haruka could only shake her head at her nephew's dumb luck before taking off her apron and started moving about.

"Well I'll take you up there again. That way you could meet the girls."

"The girls?" Ranma questioned hesitantly.

The apron draped over one arm Haruka continued on walking as she answered, "The ones who currently reside there. That way no misunderstandings should occur," grabbing a coat off the hanger by the door as she spoke.

"Misunderstandings?" Ranma questioned once more as he got up and started to follow his aunt's lead.

His actions came to an abrupt stop though once Haruka turned and handed the apron over to him.

"But first you're going to clean up your own mess," the woman stated as she made a nod towards the table cluttered with various empty dishes.

Ranma only took the presented article of clothing as he sweat drop slightly at the seriousness in her voice. Nodding once to confirm his acceptance of the command – he didn't want to offend the woman – Ranma quickly got to work.

It didn't take long as Ranma had eaten just about everything – no crumbs withstanding – so he only needed to collect the barely dirty dishes and wash them. He was tempted to prolong his actions, however, when his thoughts strayed to what he had to do afterwards. The enticing idea was nevertheless remedied by the second whack at the back of the head for the day – courtesy of Haruka and her unusually hard paper fan.

It was then within reasonable time that everything was cleaned and put into place before Haruka put up the closed sign and locked the door.

_Well, it's probably best to get it over with sooner than later,_ Ranma mused.

Whatever 'it' was specifically he didn't know.

But, boy, did he get a bad feeling about **it**.

For the third time Ranma resisted the urge the shiver.

To Be Continued…

* * *

**Comments:** I've actually finished this chapter some time long ago, but I was never really sure if I wanted to end the chapter at this spot. Yes, I know. Two months is kind of pushing it for mulling over what should be a simple decision on whether to add to this chapter or not. In the end, I decided not to. That's my explanation for why this chapter is somewhat bland with barely any excitement to it. Hopefully you all find the next chapter better, a bit at least?

Anyhow, I did actually checked for mistakes and whatnot as well from time to time – sometimes you notice things you don't before, weird no? I'm pretty sure I didn't quite catch every slip-up I probably made throughout this chapter though.

**ADDED 08-23-09:** I've just put up a poll on my profile regarding Ranma's name for this story. Let me know what you think here, there, anywhere?

* * *

**Nysk:** After reviewing chapter 2, I have to agree with you. It is jumpy. I should rewrite it and make the chapter flow better. And I will! When I feel up to the task and not procrastinating about, of course.


End file.
